House prices expected to grow 3.5% this year
Average house prices in Leeds city centre are set to grow by 3.5% in 2018, according to latest predictions from property consultant JLL.
JLL’s The New Housing Paradigm report highlights that Leeds will see strong price growth over the next five years, at an average of 3.7% per annum – second only to Manchester in terms of expectations.
Average rents for a two bedroom flat in the city is expected to also grow by 3.5 % this year and by 3.5% per annum over the next five years .
Charles Calvert, head of residential at JLL in Leeds, said: “While rents for city centre flats remained flat in 2017, we expect average rental growth of 3.5% per annum over the next five years. This forecast makes Leeds our standout market to watch for rental growth over this period.”
JLL says the Build to Rent (BTR) market in Leeds is one of the most active across the all of the UK’s city centres. Demand is fuelled not only by young professionals but a wider spectrum of renters including affluent students.
There are now 3,500 BTR units and a further 2,000 private sale units in the short-term development pipeline. Just under 1,000 BTR units are under construction in Dandara’s 744 unit Sweet Street West and Grainger’s 242-unit scheme on the site of the former Yorkshire Post HQ. Caddick / Moda’s long awaited SOYO development, which includes 515 BTR units is expected to start on site this spring.
Calvert added: “Crucially the new BTR supply coming to the market will satisfy the premium tier of rental demand that is currently completely underserved. The growth of built-to-rent developments in the city is very welcome as this asset class has to date performed incredibly well in Manchester. We expect this interest will continue over the coming years too, with developers and landlords optimising the model.”
JLL expect that housing markets in parts of Northern England will be amongst the strongest over the coming five years.
